Our Holistic Approach
To properly heal from addiction we need a holistic approach. We need to create a life we don't need to escape.
Dr. Nicole Han Cirelli
Acupuncture
Dr. Nicole Han Cirelli, L.Ac, Dipl. OM is a California Licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist and is NCCAOM certified. She received her Masters Degree and Doctoral Degree from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and her Bachelor’s Degree from Union College in NY. She currently treats clients at AVR and San Francisco Community Acupuncture. She is experienced in using the NADA-protocol in conjunction with other acupuncture techniques to aid in addiction rehabilitation, as well as chronic pain, mental/emotional health, GI diseases, stress, and insomnia. She finds it necessary to have a holistic approach to balancing mind, body, and spirit, and is dedicated to serving her community through quality, effective community acupuncture.
Yoga
In my early days of sobriety I often heard the phrase “one day at a time” and always though, ok, what do I do in that one day?
20 years later and a shit load of soul searching, retreats, workshops, seminars, books, podcasts, conferences, 12 step meetings, sponsors, over 1000 hours of yoga therapy certifications including Nikki Meyers, y12SR and Durga Leela’s, yoga of recovery, and of course Recovery2.0 with Tommy. During covid I was luck to have done a 8 month course with Gabor Mate that was life changing.
I now have a pretty good idea how to fill my day with constructive practices to help me live happy, healthy and whole. These practices are based on both Eastern and Western approaches to addiction recovery.
For the last 20 years I've shared these teachings with thousands of beautiful people in the chemical dependency department at Kaiser hospital in northern CA and numerous residential homes and facilities.
This is what works for me, now I’d like to give back and share with you.
These are the tools I've learned, taught and use.
Ecotherapy
Darlene DeRose leads the Ecotherapy Program at AVR, which includes on-site community gardening (growing seasonal vegetables harvested and eaten on-site) supplemented by outdoor and nature-based activities. Ecotherapy rests on the idea that people have a deep connection to their environment and to the earth itself. Darlene bases her program on a body of scientific work revealing how spending time in nature has a positive impact on mental health.
A UC-Certified Master Gardener, Darlene combines her practical skills as a gardener with her desire to support health and healing. She is a long-time Board member and volunteer of Support4Recovery, a Contra Costa County non-profit that supports individuals recovering from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Although the primary focus of Darlene’s work is the recovery community, she is also actively engaged in working with veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs- Martinez VA Medical Center
Darlene has a B.A. from Stanford University, a Master’s in Public and Private Management from Yale University, and an M.A. from John F. Kennedy University, where she specialized (and was certified) in Ecotherapy.